I keep seeing a weird word on this board lately. The word I’m seeing is “whinge”. When I see this word, I pronounce it “winj”. But I think it’s supposed to be pronounced “whine.” Which is how I spell that word anyway. You know, the word “whine” ?
Is this a British spelling? I thought I was somewhat well read and recognized British versions of words as opposed to American versions. Or am i just behind the times and this is a new and improved spelling that has taken over the world?
*British *: to complain fretfully, from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary.
The word and spelling go back in Old English to at least 1150. I think it’s just become fashionable in the last 5-20 years.
I think that most Brits and Aussies pronounce it to rhyme with “hinge.”
I could be wrong about the last.
Yup. Similar in meaning to whine, or moan. I think “whinge” is used to suggest that the complaining in question is quite childish in nature, although that could just be me.
A bit like the difference between a boat and a ship, I suppose. A boat is smaller than a ship, but the exact demarcation point between the two is never defined.
Likewise, a whine is longer in duration than a whinge, and whine implies a certain constantly-complaining character, whereas a whinge is more of an occasional one-off minor complaint, albeit one that is talked up beyond its actual importance.
Also, there’s a lot of transoceanic influence here, so if you see a member here using the word “whinge” they might actually be American.
I don’t think of this word as either “foreign” or “recently trendy.” I grew up with it, raised in the 50s by American parents with deep American roots and little tolerance for childish whingeing. Whinging? Doesn’t mean I know how to spell it.
Warning: anechdotal evidence.
American, born in 1944. I consider myself middle-class, decently educated, and modestly well read. I never heard or saw the word until I got on the internet in 1998.
SparrowHawk. Any chance your parents or grandparents were born in a UK country?
In the interest of collecting dueling anecdotes, I repeat: American parents with deep American roots; my ancestors hailed over from sundry UK locations (England, Scotland, Wales) beginning in the mid-17th century. It might be an isolated regional holdover; the maternal side flourished in the Southern mountains, the paternal, on an island off New England’s coast. Or maybe I just spring from purely idiosyncratically-linguistic stock.
American, born in 1949. Grew up in The Bronx. My mother used whinge all the time. Today is the first time I’ve heard (read) it since I was a child.
More anecdote: American born in the 50s of American parents born in the 30s. Well-traveled & well-read. Never heard of the word until I subscribed to The Economist 15 years ago. Have never heard it used in speech, although I’ve never had occasion to talk at length with any Commonwealth folks.
Huh. Learn something new everyday. Thanks guys!
Are you all pronouncing the ‘h’ in whinge? I do.
Recent experience has shown me lots of people mis-spelling “where” as “were”. So I’m wondering if the “wh” sound is on the decline.
Glad you mentioned the pronunciation, Futile Gesture.
I clicked on Papermache Prince’s link and found that at…
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=whinge&x=0&y=0
…the word seems to be sounded without the ‘H’ sound and it comes out INJ. (My wife heard it the same way.) Anyone else?
Strictly speaking the ‘h’ in whinge should be voiced slightly, though the nature of English is such that it will eventually be lost, and we’ll wind up with a spelling like winge or winj.
I think the ‘h’ is important, and it’s a shame to lose it to slackness of enunciation. That’s my whinge for the day.
One more anecdote. American born in 1958. Never heard the word until Mr Gore invented the internet.
The “wh” sound (which long ago was written as “hw”) in words like “what”, “when”, “which” and “why” used to be a lot more distinctive than it now is for some; and for many of us English-speakers that distinction is gone: I pronounce “what” and “watt” the ame, and “whine” and “wine” the same.
And oddly, in “who” the “w” sound disappeared, while the “h” sound remained.
You are right about the last but I think you may be wrong about the first. I encountered it in common usage when I moved to the UK in 82. Australians have been referring to ‘whinging poms’ for a lot longer than that, probably at least since the days of the Ten Pound Poms.
Do you mean pronouncing (“wuh-hinge”) or aspirating the ‘w’?
Aspirating. Sort of like “hwindge” to rhyme with ‘hinge’